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CHAPTER
ONE
“Hold her! Hold her!” Bull Redford exclaimed, as he and two other cowboys rushed to prevent a disgruntled cow from tearing through a barb wire fence. Joseph McCoy stood a few feet away, ready to help if the need arose.
“I guess she’s not in the mood for love, Boss.” Dax Casey clung to the harness of the big Beefmaster, calming her with a muttered promise of sweet feed nuggets if she’d just settle down and cooperate with the program.
“Women are going to be the death of me, McCoy.” Bull stared over the metal railing as the heifer finally allowed a big Brahman bull to mount her and plant his seed.
“You just haven’t met the right woman, Redford. Don’t judge them all by your ex.” Joseph checked the time on his pocket watch. “Aron felt the same way you do after he escaped Sabrina’s clutches. Look at him now, he’s head over spurs for Libby.”
“Nope, I’m serious, Joseph. I’m washing my hands of the whole fairer sex. I swear to God, if I even look like I’m heading to the altar again, knock me in the head with a cross-tie.”
“Don’t give me that, Redford, you’ve always been the bull of the woods. Before Carol, the buckle bunnies on the rodeo circuit couldn’t get enough of you.”
“Things have changed.” Bull kept his eyes on the prize stud. The sight of the raw, primal act was mesmerizing. “I’m not the man I used to be.” He wouldn’t ever tell Joseph, but Carol’s demeaning insults had essentially emasculated him, he hadn’t been able to get it up since the day she told him how she felt about him as a man. You’re a piss poor lover, Bull. You have all the right equipment, but you don’t know how to use it. I never get off with you. I’d rather have sex with my vibrator any day.
“Don’t give me that crap. The records you set as a bull rider will probably never be broken.” Joseph propped a booted foot on the bottom plank of the fence. “You know, Tebow went all out to convert our breeding program to artificial insemination, but I’m beginning to think we made a mistake.”
“How’s that? I thought AI was the wave of the future in cattle breeding. Although, I’m sure there isn’t a bull in the world who’d vote for it.”
“Yea, sorta takes the fun out of life for them, doesn’t it?” Joseph laughed. “No, AI is so labor intensive. Natural servicing puts all the work on the bull.”
“Yea, and I don’t hear that one complaining any.” Bull hated to be jealous of an animal, but he sure as hell hadn’t had any fun between the sheets in a month of Sundays.
When the business of procreation was over, the cow moved forward and the bull landed heavily on his front feet, a cloud of dust rising with the impact of his hooves. “This is one fine animal, Redford. Who does he belong to?”
“A rancher named Esteban. I paid a hefty stud fee for the use of this monster. I’d give my left nut for a few more head from this bloodline.”
“Esteban?” Joseph mused. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of him.”
“He moved here from Mexico to marry Doff Briscoe’s young widow. Old man Briscoe owned some prize-winning stock and Esteban just added to his breeding program by buying one of the all-time great rodeo bulls, Desperado. I hear he’s invested in some race horses too; the man has his fingers in some sweet pies.”
When Dax began to unfasten the heifer’s lead rope from where she’d been tied to the fence, Bull excused himself to Joseph. “Let me take care of something, I’ll just be a minute.” Opening the gate, he approached his foreman and the cowboy who’d accompanied the stud bull from Esteban’s ranch. “The check for the stud service is on my kitchen table, Dax. I left it up there when I fixed a bologna sandwich at lunch. If you’ll get it and give it to Armando, here, I’d appreciate it.”
“Will do, Boss.”
Turning to Armando, he offered his hand. “Tell Esteban I said thank you, and let him know I’m still interested in testing out Hurricane’s bucking skills. I sure would like to add that bull to my line-up.”
“Will do, Mr. Redford.” Armando shook his hand, then left to bring his rig from the parking lot.
Dax tipped his hat toward Joseph. “Good to see you, Mr. McCoy.”
Joseph returned the cowboy’s greeting as they all began moving out of the paddock. “I saw your new truck out front. Nice ride.”
Dax beamed. “I’m proud of it, I always wanted a green Ford pickup and now I’ve got one.” As he herded the bawling heifer into her pen, he threw a few bats of hay over the fence and a few nuggets, as promised. “Next time, ask Esteban if we could use Desperado as a seed bull, Boss.”
Bull shook his head. “I can’t afford Desperado. Esteban gets ten thousand a straw for that bull’s semen.”
“Damn.” Dax snorted. “I can’t even give my jizz away. Women don’t want me. Hell, I once had a fuckin’ sperm bank turn me down.”
Bull scoffed, he could relate to Dax’s problem. “Well, you aren’t as valuable as Desperado. He’s a three times World Championship Bull, never been rode.”
“He’s going to kill somebody one of these days. That damn crazy animal put half a dozen cowboys in the hospital. Every time he barreled out of a chute, he had murder on his mind.”
“Yea, but he’s worth his weight in gold as a breeder, he was a damn fine rodeo performer. He put me on my ass three times over the years.”
As Dax left to fetch the check for Esteban’s stud fee, Joseph and Bull started back toward Bull’s office.
